From: "Curtis Price" <cansv-AT-igc.apc.org> Date: Mon, 13 Jan 1997 07:13:37 +0000 Subject: (Fwd) [72] SOUTH KOREAN LABOR PROTESTS INTENSIFY, CLASHES IN F ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date: Sat, 11 Jan 1997 23:53:36 -0500 From: NewsHound-AT-sjmercury.com (NewsHound) Subject: [72] SOUTH KOREAN LABOR PROTESTS INTENSIFY, CLASHES IN FOUR CITIES Selected by your NewsHound profile entitled "RIOTS". The selectivity score was 72 out of 100. South Korean labor protests intensify, clashes in four cities By JU-YEON KIM Associated Press Writer SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- The government appealed Sunday for talks with outlawed labor unions, following clashes a day earlier between police and protesters in Seoul and four other cities. Striking workers called the request a government ``decoy.'' They said they will push on with plans for a bigger strike, involving a public sector, unless President Kim Young-sam agrees to repeal a contested new labor law. A sense of crisis was building in the government as the 18-day-old strike showed no signs of easing and as violence intensified. The government indicated Sunday that it may be willing to revise the disputed new labor law, which protesters say threatens their job security. The law makes it easier for companies to fire employees, while limiting employees' union rights for three to five years. The government's offer for talks with the outlawed groups was unexpected and a sense of crisis as labor protests continued to spread, despite its earlier predictions that they would subside because of a lack of public support. Lee Hong-ku, the ruling party's No. 2 man, proposed open talks on television with labor leaders. Government officials were unnerved as religious groups, opposition parties and professors -- as well as international labor groups -- threw their weight behind South Korean workers and cautioned against a government crackdown. ``The government must first abolish the bad law, then we will be willing to talk,'' said Kwon Young-gil, head of the outlawed Confederation of Trade Unions, which is organizing the widespread protests. Opposition parties demanded an immediate meeting with President Kim, saying the protest is a ``crisis that is getting out of hand.'' Officials at the ruling New Korea Party said they consider revising the law if opposition parties submit a draft revision, but insisted that the law must first be enforced. In central Seoul, police fired tear gas to disperse 20,000 protesters marching in the streets Saturday after a rally at a park. ``Crush Kim Young-sam!'' marchers shouted. They included many white-collar workers, who rarely participate in street protests in South Korea. As riot police fired staccato volleys of tear gas, many shoppers, teen-age students, and other onlookers cheered the protesters. ``Go back!'' hundreds of onlookers shouted at police deployed nearby. Witnesses reported seeing injuries but a number was not available. It was the most violent street protest since ruling party legislators passed the disputed law on Dec. 26 in a secret session, with no opposition members present. The protests have become South Korea's largest organized labor strike. In the southeastern city of Ulsan, 10,000 strikers rallied but no violence was reported. Protests were also reported in Kwangju, Taegu and Bupyong. The clashes in Seoul continued into the night Saturday, with tear gas flares lighting up the sky. An eight-lane street was littered with rocks and empty tear-gas canisters, and bonfires lit by students burned brightly. Marchers were broken into several groups by the roughly 5,000 police. Many headed to a cathedral where labor leaders were gathered. Prosecutors confirmed plans to arrest 20 union leaders. Also Saturday, nearly 2,000 religious, educational, and civic leaders issued a statement supporting the strikes. Surveys by citizens groups and newspapers show that the majority of people are unhappy with the way the government enacted the law. The strike has crippled many export plants, notably in the auto and shipbuilding industries, the backbone of the South Korean economy. South Korea's largest car maker, Hyundai Motor Co., shut its plant Friday, saying it has suffered $465 million in lost production and cannot afford to stay open. Hyundai workers said they will ignore the company's shutdown and gather at the plant Monday. Also striking are journalists, shipyard workers, nurses, credit card company employees, and assembly line workers. Union leaders said the strikes would expand to include workers from the subways, the national mint, and telecommunications unless the government relents by Tuesday. The strike was also gaining international support. ``Your struggle is our struggle,'' Marcello Malentacchi, a representative of the Brussels-based ICFTU -- the world's largest free trade union -- told the Seoul rally. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a Paris-based group of industrialized countries that Seoul joined in December, and other international groups pressed for a resolution. AP-WS-01-11-97 2233EST This material is copyrighted and may not be republished without permission of the originating newspaper or wire service. NewsHound is a service of the San Jose Mercury News. For more information call 1-888-344-6863. --- from list aut-op-sy-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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